Demonic Angels
by My Life Craves Pirates
Summary: "Vindictive Angels" prequel. Lina Lavigne gets her break in the WWE when Jeff Hardy takes her under his wing, but as time wears on and some Superstars set their sights on her, she begins to feel like she's bit off a little more than she can chew. HIATUS.
1. Stroke of Luck

So. The prequel is finally up, is it? You don't necessarily have to read "Vindictive Angels" before this, or vice versa.  
**Summary: **"Vindictive Angels" prequel. Lina Lavigne had been wrestling at a few independent promotions since she graduated from high school when she finally gets her big break as a pro wrestler when she looks to the WWE. Jeff Hardy takes her under his wing after she loses the Divas Search contest and she signs on to Raw as his intern and valet. But she has bigger ambitions and expectations of herself, and just as she has her sights set on some of the Superstars, they in turn have their sights on her. As the months roll by, she begins to feel like she's bit off a little more than she can chew.  
**Setting:** WWE, opens in mid-2005. Like June, during the middle of the Divas Search, right before the finalists debut. It's going to be a bit AU, because Jeff Hardy comes back in 2005 here instead of 2006.  
**Warnings:** violence and language throughout. Somewhere in the middle of the story, the rating will be raised to M.  
**Disclaimers:** I don't own WWE or any associated wrestlers. I do however own Lina Lavigne and her finishers.  
**Copyright:** I also own this story. And as such, stealing is a no-no. So…  
**Demonic Angels © My Life Craves Pirates 2011-?  
**Enjoy! Reviews, please!

**Demonic Angels**

**by My Life Craves Pirates**

**Chapter 1: stroke of luck**

"Isn't there _anything_ you can do?"

"I really don't know at this point. We haven't exactly been known to hire non-finalists in the past."

This was what she wanted. Ever since high school, Lina Lavigne could envision nothing but herself as being a professional wrestler. Ever since high school, she wanted to be in the WWE. And here she was, backstage in a WWE arena, sitting in the Raw General Manager's office. But the circumstances would so have it that she…wasn't as happy as she could be.

"Eric, the Divas Search was pretty much my only hope," Lina said. "So I didn't make finals. Does that automatically mean that I should just give up and leave?"

"Lina, I admire your determination, I really do," said Eric. "But the annual Divas Search competition does tend to bring in a lot of new women to the roster. You can imagine how packed it would get every year after the competition, I'm sure."

There was no arguing with that. Eric Bischoff sounded like a nice enough guy, but the news was bleak, and it didn't seem like there was any real way of breaking it easy to her. She understood, but if he thought she was determined before, he hasn't seen anything yet.

"I wish there was something I could do. You seem very promising," Eric continued, shifting through her file. "How many independent promotions have you been to?"

"Several," Lina answered, slightly despondent. She couldn't put a name to a specific number right now. "Just trying to build up on my experience and skill."

"It's a good strategy, to say in the least," Eric said. "But your file looks excellent. I've called some of your promotions, and they all recommend you."

"I've worked so hard just for this. I don't want to lose it."

She wasn't officially in the WWE. Even during the Divas Search contest, she wasn't officially a Diva. But even so, she loved being in the arena. The WWE arenas dwarfed the indy arenas in size. There was just no comparison. No indy promo in the world could compare to being in the biggest professional wrestling company in the country, home to the grandest stage of them all. She never appeared on television, but the feeling was still exhilarating to know that she had been so close. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She felt like she had belonged there like she had never felt before. She was so sure she belonged there.

This was what she wanted. And she couldn't lose that. She was still so close.

"Is there any way we could talk to Vince?" she asked.

"The chairman is not here today, so for the time being, he has put me in charge," Eric replied. "He'll return in—." He stopped talking suddenly. Lina looked on anxiously as he shuffled around her papers. He held up a finger before pulling out a binder labeled "DIVAS SEARCH" and then bringing up the WWE roster on his computer. He glanced through both things for about a minute before looking back to Lina.

"You know," he said. "There may be hope yet."

Lina was taken aback. "Really?"

"Because of the Divas Search competition, few new Divas will be joining the WWE. But as I tell all prospective Superstars and Divas, we're always looking for new wrestlers. The door _is_ open, but right now it looks like the only way for you to join is if you have connections with a current Diva or Superstar," said Eric.

Her smile slowly faded.

"It's a slim chance, but let me ask you this," he said, leaning forward. "Do you know anyone here?"

Lina was from California. WWE headquarters was in Connecticut. The show she was at right now was in St. Louis, and she had been in Calgary when she got eliminated from the competition. There was _no one_ she knew here.

Despondently, she shook her head. "No. No one."

Eric sighed. "I see. Well, it was pleasure having you on the show. I encourage you to come back and try out for the Divas Search again next year."

Lina hated to admit defeat. She never wanted to admit that things had to come to an end, and she especially didn't want to admit that now. But as much as she hated to admit the facts, as much as she didn't want to come to terms with the truth, she knew that there was little she could do, if anything. This was the apparent end of her journey, her quest for WWE greatness. But still, having Eric dismiss her like that kind of hurt.

Kind of a lot.

So now she was expected to completely give up and leave, to go home and wait until next year where she could try and enter the Divas Search competition again. And what if she was eliminated again? What then? Her hopes weren't high.

"I tried to pull strings for you, I really did," Eric said. "A referral probably would have done it. I'm sorry to see you go."

She appreciated him and his efforts, but couldn't help but feel bitter. But who did she feel bitter towards? Eric? The company? The Divas Search competition? Herself?

She didn't know.

"Me too," Lina said, standing up. She turned around, eyes towards the floor. She was feeling blank, pretty much crushed by the weight of the situation. She couldn't even find it in herself to shake Eric's hand good-bye, or to even say anything else to him. She felt like he'd understand.

Outside, the halls seemed darker than usual. Lina really didn't know how long she had been in Eric's office, trying to barter her way onto the WWE's main roster. It kind of felt like she was missing or forgetting something, but in her current state of mind, she could put her finger on it. She was leaning against the wall beside Eric's office door now, unsure of where to go from here. From the looks of things, she had two options. One, she could fly back to California in the morning and then go back to her indy promos and continue to train. Or two, she could hang around here for a little longer, borderline stalk Vince McMahon that she can catch just a shred of his time.

Neither…sounded very appealing.

There were people passing her left and right. None of them really seemed to be paying much attention to her, but by the same token, she couldn't exactly say that she was focused enough to pay attention to them either. She figured that they had more important things to do than to worry about who she was or why she was loitering outside the General Manager's office. The WWE was currently doing a live Raw taping right now, so she assumed everyone to be fairly busy. So it didn't make much sense for her to be lingering here with nothing more to do.

She ultimately decided that she was going to go back to her motel for now, and try to catch Vince later. She was a fighter, but the fight on her part seemed like a futile one.

_But then again…when have I ever let that stop me?_

She would give it a shot. If anything, it was worth a try. Eyes still cast downwards, she pushed off the wall to make the slow, long trek to the parking lot. With her vision not focused on her surroundings, she almost ran in to someone who was walking in a hurry past her. He muttered a quick "Sorry" without looking at her and kept walking. She glanced at him apathetically before turning around and started walking. She suddenly stopped. When she had glanced at him, she barely caught sight of his rainbow-colored hair out of the peripheral of her vision. She knew who that was. Lina quickly whirled around at stared wide-eyed at the man walking away from her.

_Jeff Hardy._

Eric's words rang through her head. She needed a referral from a current Superstar. This man that just passed her, Jeff Hardy, was one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling. She knew it from following his matches weekly all throughout her indy days, following him from Raw to TNA. Just think of what a recommendation from _him_ would get her. She felt her spirits lifting at the thought.

This wasn't the best idea she had ever come up with, and using Jeff to piggyback her way into the company was probably just a huge backfire waiting to happen. He had just returned from a two-year run with TNA a few months ago. Would it be right to suddenly ask so much of him so soon after his return? She recalled that in a recent interview, his brother Matt said that Jeff was like no other celebrity out there, that he was kind and giving, and would do anything for his fans.

But to call herself a fan right now would be kind of misplaced. She definitely enjoyed watching him fight, and he had been one of her favorites to watch during her run in the indy circle. But here, she wasn't a fan. She wanted to be more professional than that. But even amongst her excitement and rising hopes, she couldn't deny the underlying tone of desperation and urgency. So she ran after him, praying that Matt was right.

"Jeff?" she said, slightly out of breath. He glanced down at her very briefly.

"Didn't know they let fans backstage these days. How much have things changed since I've been gone?" he said, mostly aside to himself.

"Jeff, I—," she started.

"Listen, I'm in kind of a rush—I have a match up next," he said. "But if you want an autograph or something, that's fine. Just hand me a pen or something and I'll sign whatever you have while we walk." He held his hand out to her, waiting for her to place some sort of writing utensil in his hand. "What's your name?"

In what she considered to be a bold and slightly inadvertent move, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to a stop. He made a quick about-face, surprised by this move. Upon finally looking at her, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Jeff, listen to me," she said, slightly exasperated. " My name is Lina, and I need your help. My entire future depends on you and what you say right here, right now."

_Good job, Lina,_ she thought to herself._ Way to be professional like you wanted._

He stared at her, taken aback. "Well," he said. "I sure don't get _that_ every day." He hunched his eyebrows, studying her. He pulled his hand out of hers and pointed to her. "Hang on. I know you. You're in that Divas Search thing, right?"

"I _was_," she answered, "which is why I need your help."

"Oh that. Yeah, what did you mean by all of that? Are you out of the contest already?"

"Jeff, my whole life I've been working for this. To suddenly give up and throw it all away is a heart breaking and impossible thing for me to do," she said. "I need a referral from a Superstar in order to get into the WWE. I'm asking you to just do something really base for me, like letting me intern for you. You won't even have to use me or train me or anything. Just help me get into the WWE and then you never have to see me again if that's what you want."

He was stunned. Anxiously, she waited for an answer.

"You know, I have to go fight right now. But if I catch you afterwards, I'll try to give you an answer then." His reply seemed half-hearted. Her hopes sank again.

"But I might not still be here by then!" she said as he started to move away from her.

"Sorry, Lina. Really."

And then he was gone. And once more, Lina was out of options.

**.xXx.**

Jeff had a match that night against a Superstar by the name of Johnny Nitro. Nitro was a part of a stable called MNM, where he fought along his teammates Joey Mercury and Melina. Mercury and Melina accompanied Nitro to the ring while Jeff himself was alone. Some people saw that as being a bit of a problem, but Jeff said it was nothing he couldn't handle. Jeff had only recently started feuding with the group, though he knew full well of their malicious and underhanded capabilities. Jeff had lost most of his return matches against them, on account of repeated interference from the other group members.

Tonight was no different.

As MNM left the arena, celebrating Nitro's victory and Joey and Melina's handiwork, Jeff sat in the ring, absorbing what had happened. The crowd raised an uproar as Jeff ran his hands through his hair and sighed heavily. And then he thought about Lina and what she had said.

He didn't really know her. During his run in TNA, he had barely found the time to keep up with WWE programming. He hadn't paid much attention to the Divas Search competition, but he did watch bits of it. He had only just recognized Lina when he encountered her in the hallways.

He tried to be nice to people. He was a fan favorite, and prided himself for being so. It made it easier to get along with co-workers and management. He wanted to be nice to Lina, but what she asked of him sounded like a pretty big favor. If anything, it was more like an act of desperation.

But then again, she implied that she had been eliminated from the Divas Search. Half of the women who had entered the competition entered on a whim. The other half actually _wanted_ to be there, while some of them didn't even know how to wrestle. Lina had clearly been a part of the group that wanted to be there. He recalled what she had said to him. All she wanted was to get into the WWE, so he couldn't help but feel like she intended to use him to get a spot in the roster. He didn't like being or feeling used.

She said she wanted to intern for him. Whether she actually, genuinely wanted to intern for him, he didn't know. If anything, he doubted her words. But she may be of some use yet. Jeff had been involved with MNM for some time now, and interference from Mercury and Melina had cost him the match. This had not been the first time this has happened by any means. Matt was currently occupied sitting at home, seething about his release and predicament, Jeff was feuding with MNM, and Lita had long since left Team Xtreme to be with Edge, so he was essentially by himself, and he was tired of MNM costing him matches.

So if Matt wasn't available to watch his back for him, who could?

**.xXx.**

Lina had reached the door to the parking lot. She had the door half-way open with her car keys in hand when she stopped. That nagging voice she was suppressing, the one telling her that she had forgotten something when she left Eric's office, suddenly became clear. When she left Eric's office, she forgot to get her file back from him.

So far, her plan was to just hang around for a while and try to see if she could catch up with and talk to Vince. It would probably be easier to talk to him if she had her file herself so they wouldn't have to spend time searching for Eric.

She closed the door and headed back into the arena's backstage.

**.xXx.**

He was backstage now, and was walking towards his dressing room, turning his head every now and then to look for her. He soon passed a stagehand and asked if he had seen anyone named Lina.

"Who?" he asked.

"I don't know her last name, sorry," Jeff admitted. He saw her compete in the Divas Search contest, but never bothered to learn any of the contestants' names. "She has long brown hair, I think she's wearing a red shirt, about five-foot-three or so…"

"I think I know who you're talking about. She was in the Divas Search, right?"

"Yeah, she was. Hey, you work here. How is it you don't know who she is?"

"To be honest, I mainly just work ECW and Smackdown tapings. Raw has been exceptionally busy as of late, so they asked me to work today," he said. "I find myself too busy to keep up with Raw and the competition. All I know from the Divas Search is that the eight finalists are debuting on TV soon."

"Great. Do you know where she is, then?"

"Last I saw, she was over by Eric Bischoff's office, but that was more than half an hour ago. Sorry I couldn't be more of a help, Jeff."

"It's fine, really," Jeff replied.

When they were talking in the halls before his match, Lina really did seem heartbroken and upset. A part of him didn't want her to use him for her own plight towards WWE stardom, but then again…a part of him also wanted to help her. He kind of resented her for being able to inadvertently manipulate him like this, but even more so, he resented himself for letting her.

"It's not all bad, I suppose," he muttered to himself. "I'm just doing something nice for her, that's all…"

He was standing outside his dressing room now. He had one hand on the doorknob, eyes cast downwards. His head still throbbed from where Joey hit him with his WWE Tag Team Championship belt while Johnny had the referee distracted. Matt thoroughly had his hands full with the Edge and Lita situation. Perhaps having Lina around wouldn't be such a bad thing.

And then suddenly he was standing outside Eric Bischoff's office. He inhaled deeply and then knocked on the door. A few seconds later and Eric invited him in. Inside the office, Eric was busy with his paperwork and documents. He looked up when Jeff walked in, and put his things down.

"Ah, Jeff," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Eric," Jeff said. "Did you happen to catch my match tonight?"

"No, sorry. I've been busy, as you can tell," Eric answered.

"Ah. Well, I lost."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Guess why."

"I think I can."

"Eric, I'm really tired of this," Jeff said. "Something needs to happen. I can't count on Matt to be there to get my back for me; he's not even here anymore. Every time I go out there against Nitro, I feel like I'm at a disadvantage, just because Mercury and Melina are out there too. And I have _no one_."

"Well Jeff, what would you like me to do about it?" Eric asked.

Jeff put his hands on the edge of Eric's desk and leaned forward. "What can you tell me about Lina?"

Eric stared at him with a slightly confused look on his face. "Lina Lavigne? Well, she was eliminated from the Divas Search competition a week ago. I looked over her file today, which I actually still have here for some reason, and it's very impressive. She's been to a several independent promotions, and looks like she's been touring the indy circle for the last five years or so. Hard worker, exceptional performer, persistent…why do you ask?"

Jeff mused. "I'm getting an idea here. Eric, earlier today, I encountered her in the halls before my match, and she was really upset about the competition. She said she wanted to intern for me, but I think all she wanted was to just get into the WWE."

"That was probably my fault, sorry," Eric said. "I told her that the only way to get into the WWE right now would be to have connections with a current Superstar. She really wanted to win the Divas Search."

"Think she was being serious?"

"When she said she wanted to intern for you? Probably. I wouldn't put it past her," he said. "But if it was just an act of desperation, I wouldn't take it personally."

He was mulling things over in his head, Eric could tell. He was staring at him, waiting for him to say something. Jeff's grip on Eric's desk was harder now. He started rapping his fingers on the wood.

"You know what, Eric?" Jeff said finally, looking up. Eric. "I think I just might take her up on that."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "Really," he said.

"I haven't decided anything yet. But still…it would be nice to be able to fight Nitro without having to constantly worry about what Joey and Melina are up to," Jeff said. "Plus, the transition from indy to WWE is a big one. A big, drastic, different one. Maybe I could help her out with that too."

Eric nodded slightly. "Well Jeff, she did leave my office some time ago, and I really couldn't tell you where she is right now. I could try to call up her agent tomorrow, or call her latest indy promo in a week, but for right now I—."

There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. Jeff straightened up and both of them looked towards the door. "Eric, I'm sorry for bothering you, but I think I left my file in here, and—." She cut herself off. Jeff had turned around to look at her, but the mere fact that he was there was enough to catch her off guard.

"Oh, so that's why I still have your file," Eric said.

"Oh I'll just take it and go, it looks like you guys were talking," she said, moving forward to take her file from Eric. "Sorry to interrupt."

"No, no, stay," Eric said. "I actually wanted to thank you for coming back, Lina. We were just talking about you."

Lina looked apprehensively from Jeff to Eric. "Is that a good thing?"

"I'd say so," Eric said, standing up. "It seems that Mr. Hardy has decided to consider your offer."

She paused, stunned. "My what?"

"To intern for him?"

Her jaw dropped slightly. "Oh! Oh my god, are you serious?"

"Before you get your hopes up, I'm still thinking about it," Jeff said, grinning slightly at her enthusiasm.

She smiled. "Good enough for me. I don't even know what to say to that."

"That'll pass, don't worry about it," Jeff said. "Eric, we done here?"

"Well, unless you want to sign her to a contract right now, I don't see anything else I can do for you," Eric said, mulling about his paperwork. "Actually, I really should run this by with Mr. McMahon first…So you can take her for now if you'd like, and I'll see you next week before the show."

"Great," said Jeff. "Come on Lina, I'll show you around." He took her by the shoulder and led her out of the office. Lina doubted that Jeff even needed to show her around at all. She had spent most of the competition using what free time she had to give herself a tour around the various arenas, learning the inside happenings and functions. She had wanted to know everything about the WWE. It made her feel more like she was actually a part of it.

"Jeff, I'm sorry about earlier today," Lina said. He glanced down at her.

"Hmm?"

"When I approached you. I meant to be more um…professional than that," she explained. "So I don't blame you for passing me off as a fan. I was just really upset."

He nodded. "I suppose if I were in your shoes, I would have been too."

They were just walking around the halls now. Occasionally, he would point something out to her and talk about the business and how things worked backstage. In between Jeff pointing things out to her, they would talk casually. It was mostly about Lina's time in the indy circle and the Divas Search competition. To change things up, Lina in turn would ask him about his time in TNA and his recent return to the WWE. Around that time, they came across an interview set with a live-circuit TV switched on in the corner.

"Yeah, sorry I can't tell you more about the important stuff that's happening," Jeff said as they approached it. "I've been working here long enough to tell you all about the backstage politics, but I don't think I can explain any of the storylines going on. You might actually know what's happening better than I would."

Kane had just defeated Sylvain Grenier in a match. As he was celebrating his victory, he was suddenly interrupted and promptly joined in the ring by a brunette woman and a much taller male companion.

"Maybe I do know the storylines better than you, Jeff," Lina said. "But I haven't been able to pay attention to all of them. I get the feeling that this is one of the more important ones I've missed."

"Oh…" Jeff said, frowning at the TV set. "That's uh…that's Lita, and that's Gene Snitsky. Shit's about to go down."

"Funny. You've been gone for two years, yet you can pick up on their feud like _that?"_ she said.

"I have something of a back story with Lita," he said. "Well, actually my brother does more than I do." He seemed so bitter. She didn't understand.

"You've piqued my curiosity, I have to admit," she said.

"Half of the reason my brother got released from the WWE in April," he pointed at the screen, "is because of her."

Lina bit her lip. "Ah."

Back in the ring, Lita had been bashing Kane and putting over her friend. At one point, she kissed Gene and Lina was just barely able to pick up the word "slut" from Jeff when he coughed loudly. Lita then asked her fiancé to come down to the ring, and a few seconds later, a tall blond man emerged onto the stage, and she announced that next week she would marry him. Lina raised an eyebrow.

"Who's that?"

"The other half of the reason."

"Oh." She felt almost awkward. "I think this is something you're going to need to explain to me more thoroughly sometime."

"You don't need to worry about what happened to my brother," Jeff said, not taking his eyes off the screen. "What you do need to worry about is _him_."

"The blond guy?"

"His name's Edge. Watch out for him."

She paused, expecting more. "That's it?"

"Maybe some other time," Jeff said, a little more upbeat now as he led her off of the set. "So why _did_ you have to go this route, anyway?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You lost the Divas Search thing. So what? Couldn't you have just entered again next year?"

She stopped walking, and he did likewise, looking at her quizzically. "I considered that. But to be honest, I don't think I would have been able to stand it again." He furrowed his brow at her. "Did you realize that this year for the competition, they actually specified that the contestants didn't have to know how to wrestle, or even have a _desire_ to wrestle? Half of the girls out there don't know what they hell they're doing, and probably just entered for shits and giggles. So what the hell's the goddamned point? I want to be in the WWE so I can be a _wrestler_. I didn't sign up for this preppy girly stuff."

"Then why sign up at all?"

She sighed. "Because I knew that once I got in to the WWE, I'd be able to be my own woman. I could break free of the stereotypical Diva hold and I could actually fight like I want to. The Divas Search was just a means of getting in. After that, I'm home free. But after I got eliminated, I felt like I had sold out for nothing."

Jeff nodded slowly. "I can respect that." He pulled out his cell phone and glanced at it. "Hey listen, I gotta run since I'm done for tonight. I told some friends I'd meet up with them. But I'll see you next week, okay?"

She cocked her head. "You will?"

"Well, we gotta sign you to a contract, don't we?" he replied, grinning. "Catch you later, Lina."

He turned on foot and walked away, leaving her by herself in a hallway that seemed a little less big than it did five minutes ago. She smiled slowly, sinking in to the feeling of belongingness and victory, knowing that she beat the system and got what she wanted after all. It was so exhilarating, she could barely think.

When she regained composure enough to remember how to move, she shook her head, laughed slightly, and said "Jeff freaking Hardy."

_Jeff freaking Hardy indeed._

End Chapter 1

Bear with me. The first few chapters aren't going to be very good, as I'm trying to set up an opening for Lina. But as her storylines and her friendship with Jeff develop, it'll take off.  
NOTE: I'm going to be adhering to WWE's original storylines currently taking place in this time setting. I've done lots of research on it, so all the storylines will be the same, 'cept I'll be tweaking some of them to put Lina in and make her fit. You'll see :D  
Reviews, please!


	2. First Impressions

Thank you to those who reviewed. To the rest of you…y u no review my story? D:  
**Warnings:** a little bit of drinking. It will progressively get worse through a good bit of the story.  
**Disclaimers:** I don't own anything WWE-related and am not affiliated with the WWE or its wrestlers…well actually that's a lie, I own a WWE merch blanket. It's very warm.  
**Reviews and Critique: **yes please!

**Chapter 2: first impressions**

The following week, Jeff held true to his word. Lina met up with him at the new arena, where he promptly informed her that Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff had gotten approval for her signing by the chairman Vince McMahon. Apparently Vince wasn't too keen on it at first, as he wasn't too fond of Jeff Hardy, but Eric put her over and finally gained his consent.

Lina was signed to a five-year deal with the company. Her hand shook with so much ecstasy, her signature looked a little more wild than usual. She had to strongly resist the urge to throw her arms around Jeff, who was also present, as she pushed her contract across the table to Eric. Jeff himself signed a verification that said he would be interning her. The form said he would be training her for a few months, though Eric said they could always change that if need be. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to finish thanking Jeff properly any time soon. He had taken such a great chance on her and put so much out there just for a rookie who wanted a shot. Her gratitude for him was indescribable.

The two of them shook hands with Eric and left his office. Jeff started leading her around the backstage halls.

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

She didn't answer. He understood.

He ended up leading her into the green room. Collapsible tables covered in food and drink lined one of the walls. Along the adjacent wall, a coffee table sat in front of a couple of sofas. He told her to have a seat while he went to go peruse through the drinks table. He asked her what she wanted, and she said something "celebratory."

He grinned, glancing at the cooler she was referring to. "Well, I guess it'll be okay, since neither of us is fighting tonight. But we still have to go out to the ring and introduce you." He walked back to the couch with two beers and handed one to her.

"What made you change your mind?" she asked. She had the question lingering in her head since last week. He looked over at her as he sat down.

"About?"

"About letting me intern for you."

Jeff propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Couple reasons, I suppose. First and foremost is MNM. I don't know if you saw my match with Johnny Nitro last week, but I lost due to interference from Joey Mercury and Nitro's girl Melina. My brother used to have my back for me for situations like this, but since this whole scandal with Edge and Lita got him fired, I've kind of been on my own lately. Having you in my corner would level the playing field, don't you think?"

"A little bit, but I suppose it's better than nothing," Lina said.

"I've been having some back-and-forth with them. Same deal every time," said Jeff. "I'm completely ecstatic whenever I _am_ able to win against them. But their underhandedness, I've come to expect."

"That's not exactly a good thing, is it?" she said. They both paused to take a drink. Lina was nearly half-way done with hers already, while Jeff seemed to be taking his time on his.

"Reason number two I accepted your request," he said, "is because I respect you. I barely know you, and already I know you're more of a hard-worker than those Divas Search girls vying for a spot on the roster. You even said it yourself—they didn't even need to have experience to enter the competition. How is it fair that a couple of non-wrestlers can get closer to being a Diva than someone who's worked her butt off for the last five years for precisely this reason?"

At this, Lina smiled.

"I understand the position you're in. Matt and I had dreamed about being wrestlers back when we were kids. The WWE is something we worked for our whole lives, so I can relate to the desire and want to be a Superstar. You've got heart, kid. I really like that." He smiled at her. She raised an eyebrow at him. At twenty-three years of age, she could hardly be called a "kid." But his words and his kind smile washed a calm over her. It didn't bother her.

"I sincerely appreciate that," she said. She was about to thank him again for signing her, but a deafening roar from the audience suddenly filled the backstage area. People out in the halls started buzzing loudly and ran past the open green room door. Jeff and Lina barely caught a shred of what they were all saying.

"_He's back?"_

"—_Matt Hardy—."_

"_I didn't see him—."_

"_His music played!"_

At the sound of his brother's name, Jeff bolted out of his seat, using the coffee table to launch himself across the room and raced towards a TV in the corner, muttering things like "What the _fuck?_" aside to himself under his breath. Lina got up to stand next to him as he hurriedly mashed his hand against the power button and flipped it to the live-circuit channel.

The woman from last week, Lita, was standing in the ring with her fiancée, the tall blond, Edge. There was a priest present, and the ring had been festively decorated. In the middle of the ceremony, Matt Hardy's entrance video and music played, earning a massive collective cheer from the crowd. Lita and Edge looked horrified towards the stage, but a few tense seconds passed and nothing happened. The music died out, and Lita and Edge suddenly broke out into malicious laughter.

"_Sorry, I just couldn't resist," _said Edge.

Whatever happened after that, Lina would have to find out some other time. As soon as they revealed that Matt Hardy's comeback was actually a pre-meditated prank, Jeff furiously kicked the TV off of its stand, where it hit the floor, crunched and went out. He swung around to the wall and slammed his fists against it, swearing loudly, and rattling the room. He stayed where he was for a while, seething silently to himself. After about a minute, he glanced over at Lina, who was watching him apprehensively.

"Sorry about that," he said quietly, composing himself.

"What was that all about?" she asked, carefully.

"Uh…I guess Lita and Edge are messing with the fans again. I just…it's still a tender issue with me." His voice was low and thick with anger. "I'm so sick of them. It burns me that she used to be our friend, and now neither of them has the decency to care that they're not only hurting my brother, but also me." He straightened up and took a deep breath. "I hope Matt's not watching this right now; I'd hate to go home to a pissed-off Matt."

Lina didn't know if she should be angry about this too. Jeff had already told her not to worry about it, so she suspected asking again what happened would be out of the question. From what he said, she now knew that there was some sort of a "scandal" involved, as he put it. It was probably wrong to go off asking other people what happened. She assured herself that he would tell her if he wanted to.

"Isn't there anything we can do about them?" she asked instead.

"I'd love to, but it's really not my battle to fight," Jeff replied. "Besides, I've got MNM to deal with. If I hadn't thought they were more than I could handle on my own, I'd have gone off to fight Edge a long time ago."

Later, they found out that Jeff didn't even need to fight this battle even if he wanted to. Jeff kicking out the TV hindered them from immediately finding out what happened during the rest of the wedding, but even well after Matt's music had played, the halls were still abuzz with the rest of the ceremony's happenings.

Turns out, Lita's ex-husband Kane, a large bald man who was even taller than Edge, had interrupted the ceremony, emerging from beneath the ring and tried to chokeslam her. Edge managed to get her away from him, so instead, Kane performed a Tombstone Piledriver on their priest. The only part Jeff was angry about was that Lita and Edge got away.

"About a year ago, my brother was feuding with Kane over Lita," he told her. "Matt lost a match against him, and per the stipulations of the match, she had to marry him. I think she even got pregnant with his baby, though I couldn't tell if she was making that up or not. Either way, her friend Gene Snitsky hit Kane with a chair and he fell on her and she miscarried. Last week when you saw them, she was blaming Kane for the miscarriage instead of Gene. So she divorced him shortly after revealing that she had really been in league with Edge."

"She's quite a character," Lina said.

"So is Edge," Jeff replied, darkly. "They deserve each other."

An awkward silence filled the air. It was awkward for Lina anyway, who continued to watch Jeff seethe silently.

"So anyway…" she said. "What's on the schedule for tonight?"

Jeff's face quickly washed over with a much more relaxed complexion. "Well, I'm supposed to introduce you to the WWE Universe tonight. That'll be right before the main event match of the night, so we've got a ways to go until then. Want to do another tour in the meantime?"

She agreed to it, but quickly wished she hadn't. Out in the hallways, all anyone they encountered could do was ask Jeff if he had seen what happened during Edge and Lita's wedding. Jeff's answers were usually short and curt, and Lina could tell he was still raging on the inside.

"Trying to give my intern a fucking tour," Jeff muttered when they were finally alone, "and wouldn't you know it?" He glanced down at her, and she was relieved to see that he was at least grinning, but she knew that he still could have done without all the questions. "I'll be fine, by the way," he added, seeing her expression. "Just trying not to think about it. How are you holding up? Nervous?"

"About tonight? Not really."

"Ever been on TV before?"

"At some higher-end indy promos, but never in front of such a large audience," Lina said. Then she thought for a second. "Yeah, I'm a little nervous."

This tour was even less like a tour than the one he gave her last week. Today he was just pointing out various offices of WWE officials, introducing her to stagehands and other wrestlers, and giving her the run-down of a typical show-day schedule. But more often than not, they would just talk casually.

"So where are you from?"

They were sitting in an interview set just outside of the wrestler's entrance to the ring. People were constantly walking past them, talking loudly. Jeff picked this spot because, due to the chaos and hassle, he thought it was unlikely they would be disturbed.

"Temecula," Lina answered. "In California."

Jeff's eyebrows raised in interest. "You know, everyone seems to glamorize California. How is it actually?"

"You've never been?"

"Only for shows, you know?" he said. "I only get to see the big cities, which is pretty nice. How's the rest of California, though?"

"I'm sure the rest of it is also quite nice," she said, grinning darkly, "but Temecula was a real skinhead city in the eighties. It's pretty nice now, but I grew up during the Hammerskin movement. Hammerskins are like, extreme skinheads, and for whatever reason, they had a chapter in Temecula. It was kind of intense."

He stared at her. "Wow. That's kind of hardcore."

She laughed once. "I think I'm stronger because of it. 'Least, I'd like to think so."

Jeff eyed her warily. "You weren't…_involved,_ were you?"

To his surprise, she laughed. "Of course not. Even if I had _wanted_ to, I was far too young at the time. But I was pretty close to some people who _were_ involved." Her smile faltered. "They were some pretty nice people, aside from the Hammerskin part. I knew a lot of what happened in the movement through these friends. I think they had mentioned to their leader, Travis Miskam, that I'd make a good recruit if I were just a few years older." She gave another dark smile.

"Then what?"

"Well naturally, they tried it in the nineties when I was in my teens. Recruiting me, I mean. Apparently young kids with troubled family lives make the best recruits. I turned them down, and I felt like I had to watch my back after that. Travis and a couple other Hammerskins were arrested in the late nineties following a beat down on a black man who took them to court afterward. The group kind of fell apart after that."

Jeff paused, letting the topic subside. "You said the best recruits were kids with troubled family lives. Do you mean to say that of yourself?"

Lina scratched the back of her head and looked away. "Yeah, uh…my parents and I never really got along, even more so the older I got. They were not behind my wrestling idea at _all_, and made a point of disowning me after I graduated high school so I could support this crackpot dream of mine on my own."

Jeff laughed. "Crackpot dream?"

"You know, wrestling, not going to college…And getting this, I suppose," she said. With the last sentence, she turned around and pulled her hair over her shoulder, revealing two angel wings tattooed to her shoulder blades in black ink, mostly visible from behind her low-back shirt.

"Not bad," Jeff commented, motioning towards her with his own heavily tattooed right arm.

"So that's pretty much my backstory," she said, turning back around. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

Jeff thought for a moment. "Sure. How 'bout your real name?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Lina's mouth, though it looked more like a grimace than anything else. "Don't have one," she answered shortly.

Jeff furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? Lina Lavigne is your—."

"Lina Lavigne is one of my many aliases," she said. "During my run in the indy circle, I always changed my name before going to the next one. On one occasion, I changed my name probably two or three times while working the same promotion." She paused. "I have trust issues, I'm just going to put it out there. I was disowned by the two people I thought I could count on for anything, by the two people who _claimed_ to love me. My birth name is the name _they_ gave me." She shrugged. "I don't have one anymore."

She was still smiling pleasantly, though Jeff could not think of hearing anything less enjoyable at the moment.

"I generally don't like people," she said.

"Is that why you became a wrestler?" Jeff asked.

"It's part of it," she replied, smiling a little.

A silence hung over them. He didn't know what else to say.

"Jeff, Lina, you're on in two," a stagehand said, approaching them.

"Right," Jeff said quickly, relieved to end the awkward topic. He got up and straightened out the crinkles in his jeans. He looked over at Lina, who was busy fixing her hair in the reflection of the glass on a picture hanging on one of the walls of the set. "You good?"

"Yes," she said, a bit breathless. "I only half had it in my mind that I was going to be debuting tonight when I was getting dressed today, so I'm sorry if my attire is a bit street-ish. First impressions and all—."

"You look fine," he said. "Besides, it's your first match that's the most important first impression." As he was talking, he started moving towards the curtained staircase to the wrestler's entrance.

"Forty seconds—."

"Oh—Jeff!" she said, a bit more edge to her voice. "How are we doing this? I mean, are you going out first and then I follow—?"

"You're coming out with me," he said.

"Is that what he told you?" she asked, gesturing to the stagehand.

"No, I just kind of decided that right now."

"Fifteen seconds—."

She eyed him warily. "Do you know what you're doing?"

He smirked. "Vaguely."

Outside in the arena, Jeff's music hit.

"Shit! Let's go!"

He jumped the staircase and disappeared through the curtain with Lina hot on his heels. As soon as she walked out onto the stage, a deafening roar from the WWE Universe met her ears. A few feet away, Jeff was enthusiastically giving his entrance dance, and Lina tried her best to also move energetically to avoid looking awkward and stationary. The reality of the situation was starting to sink in; it made her head swim and her feet were heavy with anxiety. With some difficulty, she managed to move them down the ramp when Jeff started off towards the ring. The fans, still cheering loudly for Jeff, also began to buzz in curiosity at the sight of the mystery woman accompanying him to the ring.

Jeff jumped onto the ring apron first. Lina, wearing tall wedge shoes, opted to take the set of steps leading up to the ring instead. Jeff pulled the bottom and middle ropes open for her, and, surprised by this gesture, she ducked through them. Another heavy blow struck her as she realized, at long last, she was standing in the ring of the WWE, the ring she had been vying for the last five years. The sheer size of the arena and the vast number of people in attendance was intimidating. Jeff, now inside the ring, jumped up onto the turnbuckles in the corner, drawing another round of cheers from the audience. Unsure of what to do, Lina stayed where she was and applauded him politely.

As Jeff hopped back down to the mat, he took a microphone from a stagehand. "I'd like to address something, if I may…" he began. "As I'm sure you've all noticed by now, I've been in a bit of a rut with Johnny Nitro and MNM. Since April's unpleasantness, I've been somewhat left to fend for myself. Which I'm perfectly capable of doing, don't get me wrong…but when I'm trying to fend against three underhanded cheats, you can imagine problems would arise. Which brings us to my point."

With that, he gestured towards Lina. Lina nodded, again to avoid looking awkward and stationary. "This is Lina Lavigne, and she will be interning for me."

A bit of a murmur arose from a good portion of Jeff's female fanbase.

"I don't expect things to be like how they were back in the days of the Hardy Boyz by doing this. And in fact, I'm not trying to recreate a Hardy Boyz kind of protection at all by bringing her in. If anything, this will merely level the playing field to an appropriate—."

Jeff was abruptly cut off as someone's music hit. Lina looked towards the titantron, which started blaring the letters "MNM." Down on the stage, a woman and two men holding tag team championship belts had emerged. Lina had to admit, that as badly as she had wanted this, she really didn't know what she was getting herself in to. She didn't know most of these people and what they were capable of. She was signed on to help Jeff deal with MNM, but she didn't know their history, she didn't know what kind of people they were. She glanced up at Jeff, uncertain, but he was focused on MNM.

"Well this is all pleasant and sudden, wouldn't you think?" said the front-most man. Lina assumed him to be Johnny Nitro. "It's only been what, two months since your brother left and you're already trying to replace him? And with _her?_ How typical of Jeff Hardy to come out here and try to intimidate us with a false sense of security by showing off his new meat. Don't know if you're aware of this, Jeff, but two on three is still a disadvantage on your part."

"No one is replacing anyone," Jeff shot back, "and I don't need the odds to be even for me to beat you. Because you see, unlike you, I can actually win a match off my own merit and talent."

These words wiped the smile right off of Nitro's face. "Haven't been doing much winning lately though, have you?"

"I would if your Hollywood harlots would stay in the back for once."

Melina and Joey Mercury started to make for the ring, but Nitro held them back. "Well where's the fun in that?" Nitro asked. "If we had it your way every time we fought, I would have no need for Joey or Melina, and you would have just wasted your time signing a useless wannabe Diva intern."

Something flared up in the pit of Lina's stomach. True be it that she had no idea what to expect from the other wrestlers once she joined the WWE, but she did know for certain that she was not about to have spent five years working around financial hardship, educational sacrifice, disappointment, rejection, and steadfast determination only to finally achieve her dream and be called a "wannabe."

Jeff raised the microphone and opened his mouth to defend her, but Lina snatched it out of his hand. All of her nervousness and anxiety vanished; the vastness of the audience dissolved. There was only her and her immediate, smoldering dislike for this flashy, arrogant man. A hush fell over the crowd as she raised the mic and took a few steps closer to the stage.

"Let me show you how useless I am," she said, "and prove that Jeff didn't waste his time on me."

The words were out of her mouth before she had fully realized what she just done. Calmly, Jeff took the microphone back from her. Melina and Mercury exchanged haughtily looks, stifling laughter. Beside them, a triumphant grin spread across Nitro's face.

"I think that can be arranged," he said.

**.xXx.**

"Right. I uh…wasn't expecting that."

Jeff and Lina were backstage now, currently located in his dressing room. He had invited her to sit down on the couch, but he himself remained standing. He had his hands on his hips and was not looking at her, but rather staring at the floor with a look of slight exasperation.

"Which part?" she asked.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting MNM to come out and interrupt the introductions," he said. "I was essentially calling them out by saying that I signed you to help me take care of them. So I guess, to answer your question, I wasn't expecting you to start issuing challenges so soon."

"Did you expect me to just stand there and let him insult me?" she said, slightly affronted.

"No, I expect you to trust me," he retorted. "I could have taken care of it if you had let me. I just signed you a _week_ ago, Lina. I haven't even begun _thinking_ of how I'm going to train you. Fighting in the indies and fighting in the WWE is a huge difference that I wanted to gradually prepare you for. In case you didn't know, one week isn't a whole lot of time to prepare you for this match, and I doubt if we can even get access to a ring all seven days before next Raw."

"Well I issued a challenge for a tag team match, didn't I?" she said. "I was speaking to Nitro, but I can't very well fight him myself, being a woman and all." She scowled. "If he wants to fight me, he'll need Melina with him."

"I don't know, your wording was kind of vague," he said, musing. "I can clear it up with Bischoff tonight, though, but we've still got our work cut out for us."

There was a long pause. Lina felt like she could really go for a drink right now.

"Jeff, I'm sorry," she said.

Jeff looked up, startled. "Huh?"

"I'm in over my head, and I shouldn't make you bail me out of my stupid mistakes," she said. "I had this problem in the indies, too. I always get too defensive, trying to show people up and maintain dignity. I've just…sacrificed so much to get here, and I don't want it to go to waste."

His expression softened. "Lina, you have years to achieve what you want. You just shouldn't jump in to it right off the bat."

"I don't want to be a typical Diva."

There was another long, startling pause.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to be something bigger, achieve greater things. I want to make the most out of my WWE career, so maybe that way, what I went through to get here would actually be worth it." Her voice was quieter now. "I would love to fight Nitro on my own." She looked up at him and grinned slightly.

Jeff stared. "In due time, maybe. But in the meantime, Nitro isn't really yours to fight." He walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. "You know, during our tours over the last few weeks, I've told you a lot about general rules and the inner workings of the WWE. But there were some things I didn't tell you just yet, because I expected to keep them until our training sessions where they would be more applicable. But all general rules and inner workings aside, there are two other rules that apply strictly to the Superstars and what goes on inside the ring."

He held up one finger. "Rule number one is the safety of the wrestlers above anything else. You fight safely and make wise choices, or you'll pay for it in the end."

He held up another finger. "Rule number two, which I think is just as important as rule one, is that you do _not_ go mixing yourself up in business that is not yours. You end up with a lot more on your plate than you can handle, and usually end up paying for it in the end, too." He grinned. "And I have a feeling that I'll have to keep reminding you of the second rule throughout your WWE career."

She tried to give him an offended look, but ended up smiling.

"I'll do what I can in the time we've been given," he said. "We might be able to get some training time in tomorrow after the ECW show. Wednesday and Friday I'm not sure…we might be able to use the ring again Thursday after Smackdown, too…" He nodded aside to himself. "We'll make it work. I have to admit, you had me going there, when you issued the challenge, you know? But I'm starting to warm up to it."

"I'm glad you see this from my point of view," she said, smiling. As Jeff continued to deliberate in silence, mulling in the increasingly appealing match Lina had set up, her mind wandered back to what Jeff had said about Bischoff. Eric Bischoff, the general manager, must have seen what she had done. What if he thought her too forward and brash after only having been with the company a week?

"Jeff, will I get in trouble for this?" she asked.

He looked at her. "Oh I doubt it," he said, honestly. "Eric's a nice guy, but he's a total sleaze. He'll do anything he thinks will draw ratings."

"Oh," Lina said, slightly put off by this. "That's uh…good to know, I guess."

"Yep…" he said. "So that's pretty much it for tonight. I have to go talk to Eric, but you're free to go if you want."

"I think I'll hang back and watch the fights," she replied.

"'Right." She stood up and he walked her out of the room. "See you for training, then."

And with that, he headed off towards Eric's office. Lina stood where she was for a few seconds before drifting off to find a live-circuit TV, musing to herself and wondering what she had gotten herself in to.

**.xXx.**

When they next met up the following week for Raw tapings, Jeff revealed to her two things: he had specifically made the match a mixed tag team match, and he would not be formally training her until after tonight.

"So you know the difference between mixed and intergender tag matches, right?" he asked.

Lina shrugged distractedly. "Kind of."

"Well, intergender means the guys can fight the girls," he explained. "Mixed is just guys versus guys and girls versus girls. I don't want you fighting Nitro yet, though I know you want to, so I'm restricting you to mixed matches for right now."

Lina fought to accept the reason for this. "All right. What about my training?"

The two of them had tried to find as much time to use the ring before and after shows as possible to prepare her for the match. They had gotten a good bit of training done, but most of it was going over Nitro and Melina's tactics, telling her to watch out for Mercury, and basic grappling.

"I want to see what you can do before I put together a schedule," Jeff answered. "Tonight's match should be a good demonstration of your in-ring skill. After tonight, it'll be much easier for me to think of what I want to teach you."

They were standing outside the entrance to the stage, both fully dressed for the match. Lina was beside herself in anxiety while Jeff continued to talk like this was all normal. Never before had she been so nervous for a match. She had a firm grip on either of her arms, shaking slightly, while gnawing on her bottom lip with her brows furrowed and staring anywhere but at Jeff. She was about to fight in her first official match as a WWE Diva, the match she had been dreaming about for five years. Not only would she be realizing her dream tonight, but also casting the important first impression Jeff had mentioned last week upon the WWE Universe, and the Superstars.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked, finally realizing something was off.

Lina nodded wordlessly.

"Hey, look. Look at me," he said firmly. He touched her cheeks with his fingertips, drawing her attention to him. "You'll do fine, okay? I've seen a bit of what you can do in the ring, and if I were worried about how you'll perform tonight, I would have said something, right?"

"You do know how important this is to me, don't you?"

"Yes, I believe I do," he said. "Listen, everyone you've seen, all the Superstars and Divas, they all had a first match in the WWE. And whether they won or lost, they got up, and fought again. I wouldn't call first impressions all _that_ important, really; if you lose, you can always just redeem yourself later. Not that you'll be losing anyway, since you're with me."

He smiled reassuringly at her. She half-smiled back, but her mind was still plagued with the worries and doubts at the root of her anxiety: the thousands in attendance, the millions watching at home, the pressure of approval from the chairman and general manager, the scrutiny of the other wrestlers, and the dire need not to let Jeff down.

In a blurry haze, she was suddenly down at the ring, Jeff's music pounding dully in her ears. The pounding was accentuated by the cheering of the crowd, which she was sure was directed towards Jeff and not herself. She was still shaking slightly, faced with the prospect of either winning or eating her words.

In what seemed to be an unnecessary and taunting bout of slow motion, the stable of MNM made their way down to the ring, with Johnny Nitro and Melina in lead. As they got into the ring, Lina became slightly off-set by the chance that she may have to start the match, showcasing her professional inexperience and lack of training with Jeff. All three members of MNM seemed to be trying to size up and intimidate Lina, but before she had really even noticed, Jeff stepped forward and shoved Joey Mercury backwards. He and Nitro immediately got up in each other's faces, sending a kind of unspoken signal to the Divas that they would be starting the match. Lina climbed through the ropes and onto the ring apron, wondering if Jeff had just read her mind.

Jeff had a fairly decent advantage over Nitro throughout the first half of the match. Twice he had to stop Nitro from tagging out to Melina. A couple times Jeff looked towards Lina, as if considering tagging her in. He was torn between his desire to see what she could do, and knowing that she might not be experienced enough. She had performed fairly well during their training, but she had still been incredibly anxious going into the match. Yet whenever he looked over at her, she looked like she was dying to get the tag.

He obliged her when he landed an offense on Nitro and he retreated to his corner. Nitro was obviously looking to tag out to Melina, and this time, Jeff let him. As Jeff backed himself towards his corner, he held his hand out to Lina without looking at her, and stifled his anxiety. Melina got into the ring and beckoned towards Lina with a smug grin on her face.

"Show her what you've got," he said. Lina smiled.

Jeff had been worried that Nitro would end up making his intern eat her words in her first official WWE match, but his anxiety settled somewhat once Lina jumped into the ring and started dealing the blows right away. Lina was a small woman, of about five-feet-three-inches tall, which Jeff could immediately tell meant for high agility. Melina herself was extremely flexible and agile, and being not too much taller than Lina, it seemed the two of them were pretty evenly matched. Lina wasn't bad for an indy-wrestler-turned-big.

Lina got a little over-eager and ended up getting clotheslined in the face. Melina, having already taken a good deal of offense from her opponent already, tiredly reached down to pull Lina up by her hair. Once standing, Lina broke away from Melina's grip and dropkicked her in the chest. Melina fell hard and ended up near her corner, where Nitro reached in and tagged himself in.

Jeff jumped in as Lina rolled out, not even bothering to wait for her to tag him in. Lina rolled off the apron and onto the floor, where she was not able to see the action going on in the ring. She was sure Jeff was doing great, and in the meantime, used this much needed relaxation time to absorb what was _really, finally _going on:

_I'm in the WWE. I'm in a match in the WWE. _

It was still sinking in. Around her, the fans sitting at ringside were cheering, and some of them were actually looking at _her_ and cheering_. _It was the most exhilarating and surreal thing she had ever experienced.

She suddenly realized that she was still lying on the floor. She grinned, making her way to her knees. She put her arms on the ring apron for support and peered in on the fight. Nitro had managed to turn the tables on Jeff, beating him into the corner. Nitro ducked down and lifted Jeff, sitting him down on the top turnbuckle. Melina went to distract the referee while Joey Mercury, who was outside the ring, went to go hand one of their title belts to Nitro. Lina only barely caught sight of it, because as soon as the referee went off to deal with Melina and Mercury moved towards Nitro, Lina was back in the ring. This was the underhanded cheating tactics of MNM, was it? Jeff was right, and she wasn't surprised.

With the referee's back turned towards her, Lina was able to take Nitro out while Jeff recovered. Nitro noticed her enter the ring and turned away from Mercury before he was able to take the belt from him, but before he had time to react, she kneed him in the stomach, grabbed him by the hair, and threw him onto his back. Melina immediately threw a fit, shoving past the referee to get to Lina, and Lina had a clothesline waiting for her. Melina collapsed and Lina kicked her out of the ring, following her out. Back inside the ring, Jeff had composed himself enough to stand up on the top turnbuckle and swan dive onto a still supine Nitro—

And then the bell rang. Mercury was dragging Melina away from Lina, Nitro was rolling out of the ring, and Jeff was standing victorious inside the ring. His music was playing, and the fans were cheering again. Lina jumped in to the ring, and in a second she and Jeff were hugging. She had fought her first official WWE match and she had _won_. This was going to take a while to sink in.

"Not bad, kid!" Jeff said, smiling widely. "I saw what you did with Nitro and the distraction. Not bad at all."

"You think so?" she said breathlessly.

"Hey, I signed you to help me take care of MNM, right? You did just that," Jeff replied. "So congrats, Lina! Winning your first WWE match and shutting up Nitro. I knew I didn't sign you for nothing."

She couldn't say anything else. She tried, but the words stuck in her throat. So instead, she let Jeff raise her arms in victory as the fifteen thousand-odd fans in attendance cheered for them while she stood in the home to the grandest stage of them all. The experience was so surreal, so exhilarating.

Her first impression was made. She could only hope that the executives and Superstars alike were as approving of her as Jeff was. She had served her purpose so far and could only hope that this was the first opportunity of many to continue proving to Nitro and MNM that Jeff didn't waste his time on her.

She moved towards the ring ropes as the three members of MNM backed up the ramp towards the stage. Eyes set firmly on Nitro, she pointed directly at him. She didn't say anything; she didn't need to. She wanted everyone to know that she was going to get her hands on him sooner or later. If he didn't get the message now, no matter. He'll find out in due time.

But in the meantime, Lina was just going to enjoy herself.

End Chapter 2

You know, I had decided that she was going to be from Temecula LONG before I found out that it was all up in skinheads in the eighties (found that out recently from watching the show Gangland). I've actually been to Temecula, and it is pretty nice. Also, I live in California. It's really not as nice as everyone glamorizes it to be :D  
also, sorry this took so long to update. Also sorry if it seemed like a lot/too much happened in this chapter. I tried to space it out, but maybe the story would be way too long if I tried to do that. I'll try to be more organized with the next chapter.  
Reviews, please!


	3. Comeback

Thanks for the reveiws, guys! Sorry if this update took a long ass time. School and my job keeps me busy D:  
**Note:** a major surprise! …which probably won't be very surprising at all if you've actually followed WWE in 2005, unlike me…  
**Warnings:** language, name-calling and the likes. No official fighting in this chapter, but people do jump each other.  
**Disclaimers:** I don't own WWE or anything related, but I own Lina Lavigne, her likeness and finishers.  
**Reviews and Critique: **always welcome!

**Chapter 3: comeback**

"Hey, Matt. How are you doing?"

"_As well as I can, I guess."_

Jeff was sitting in his dressing room, feet propped up on the table. He had his brother Matt on the phone. It was a week later and even longer since he had seen him. Matt kept dodging his questions, not giving him much reason or excuse for his extended absence.

"Haven't really seen you around home lately," Jeff said.

"_Yeah, I know. I've got stuff to sort out, but it should be all over and done with by next week. So I've been out and about a lot because of it."_

"To any place in particular?"

"_Sure have."_

"And what's that?"

"_Well, finding out is half the fun, isn't it? But never mind me…how are things at Raw?"_

Jeff sighed, a little put off by Matt's ambiguity. He just wanted an answer to his question but ultimately decided not to push the matter. "The usual, I guess. Adam and Amy are still going about their crap, taunting Kane and making fun of you. Not much new there. Did you see the wedding last week?"

"_Nope, but I heard about it. I haven't been keeping up with Raw much since I left."_

"You didn't miss much. They didn't go through with it, since Kane broke it up half-way through. And then MNM is still up in my face, not much new there either."

"_Those guys still? God, Jeff, aren't you going to do anything about that?"_

"Who says I haven't? You'd know if you still watched Raw, or if you came home every now and then that I signed myself an intern."

Matt paused for a few seconds. _"Really? I didn't think you wouldn't have time for an intern."_

"But it's just that—she's going to help me deal with MNM. We had a tag match against them last week, and she really pulled through."

"_Well. Good for you, then."_

"There's a back-story behind how I came to sign her in the first place. It's pretty funny, I'll have to tell it to you some time. Her name's Lina Lavigne and she's doing pretty well so far. She's going to be a bit of a handful, I can tell. She's very ambitious and pretty forward, so I'll try to keep an eye on her. Haven't had much of a chance to train her lately, but she's got a lot of potential."

"_She sounds like quite a character. I'll have to meet her sometime."_

"I'm sure you will soon."

"_Yeah. Me too."_

Jeff paused, processing his brother's words. "Wait, what's that supposed to m—?"

"_Oh gosh, look at the time. I'd better go."_

Jeff set his jaw in frustration. "Fine. I'd better go check on her anyway."

"_From the sound of things, she's a troublemaker. Just like you. So naturally you two will get along just fine."_

"Thanks, Matt."

Matt laughed but otherwise didn't say anything else. They both hung up and Jeff stood up, stretching his arms above his head. A few seconds later, he exited his dressing room and started off down the hall. A couple days after Lina's debut match, a Raw Superstar by the name of Christian was abruptly drafted to Smackdown. Backstage, people were still talking about it and what it meant for Raw. Some other people were taken aback by the sudden draft decision, wondering if it could happen again to anyone. It was widely acknowledged that Christian was a talented wrestler, but the only thing Jeff said about it was, "Good for Christian."

He found Lina lingering near the wrestler's entrance to the arena, watching the matches on a TV in a nearby interview set and occasionally chatting with the people who walked by. Pinned on the wall just next to the wrestler's entrance was a lineup of all the scheduled matches for that night. As the matches progressed, they would be crossed off the list with the winner's name circled. In between a couple matches were blank spaces where Superstars could go out and give a speech. The opportunity for a speech was given to whoever wrote their name in the blank spot first, and if no one signed up, then the spot would be filled with promos, Pay-Per-View cuts, recaps, or commercial breaks. When Jeff found her, Lina was torn between watching the matches and scrutinizing the lineup. As Jeff neared her, he saw that she had a pen in her hand.

"What are you doing?" he said, snatching the pen away from her.

Lina jumped. "Christ, Jeff, don't do that!"

"Is the schedule looking a little empty to you?" he asked, turning the pen over in his hand.

"Of course not," she replied. "It's perfect the way it is."

"Because you know, if you want to do anything, you have to run it by with me first."

"Who says?" she snapped.

"Uh, your contract, and so do I because I'm your boss," Jeff said.

"My _boss?_ You don't even pay me," Lina retorted.

Jeff nodded towards the schedule. "What are you doing?" he asked again.

Lina shifted her eyes from Jeff to the pen. "I want to call out Nitro."

"Do you!" Jeff said, with mock surprise. "Well I sure would be a lousy boss if I didn't give you the opportunity to defend and prove yourself every now and then, huh? What with you being an up-and-coming Superstar and all…"

Lina watched him tap his chin with the pen in concentration. "Deep thinking?"

"I know I should give you this opportunity—it'll be good for your development," he replied. "I'm just wondering how to do it without you causing too much trouble."

"Trouble? Me?" Lina said, placing a hand on her chest. "Jeff, I would never."

"My brother just called you a troublemaker and he doesn't even know you," Jeff said. "People are already telling each other to look out for you. That's the kind of reputation you've got going right now."

"It could be argued that it's remarkable that I've managed to make such an impact already," she retorted.

"You'd think so, but no," said Jeff.

Lina sighed. "Jeff, let me ask you a question," she said. "When you introduced me to the WWE Universe, did you _hear_ what Nitro said to us? What he said about _me?_"

"Why yes I did, actually," Jeff answered, "but if I remember correctly, most of his speech was directed towards me."

"He called me a piece of meat," she said. "Let me call him out, Jeff. I promise I won't challenge him to a match. I just want to make it clear what he's got coming to him, since I'm such a…troublemaker." She grinned.

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "And what a troublemaker you are." He uncapped the pen and scribbled her name down on a blank spot set for later in the night. "I _will_ be out there with you," he said, pointing the pen at her.

"I would have insisted," Lina said, smiling.

**.xXx.**

Word spread quickly that Lina Lavigne had put her name in one of the blank spots. The general feeling going around the locker rooms was that she just wanted to brag about her win over MNM, while others supposed that her speech was going to have something to do with Johnny Nitro. Most people wanted to watch her speech; the lure of partnering up a high-name Superstar like Jeff Hardy with an up-and-coming Diva was somewhat promising. The Superstars wanted to see where Jeff would take her and how her sudden feud with Nitro would play out. The Divas, however, were less welcoming of her partnership with Jeff.

Lina hadn't seen Jeff since he signed her up for a speech. He left when he was suddenly summoned to the General Manager's office. Whatever Bischoff needed to talk to Jeff about, it must have been urgent. Jeff told her that he would catch up with her later, so in the meantime she decided to head out to the wrestler's entrance and wait for him there.

She was going to call out Nitro. She had a general idea of what she wanted to say to him, but the details eluded her. Johnny Nitro had called her a piece of meat and a wannabe Diva intern. She burned with the urge to fight him one-on-one, but she had to mind Jeff's words. Maybe she would get her chance. In the meantime, calling him out would have to do.

A man walking quickly out of an adjacent hallway nearly tripped over her in his haste. He dropped the briefcase he was holding after stopping short to avoid knocking her over.

"Hey, watch it!" he said, bending down to retrieve the briefcase.

"Sorry about that—," Lina started, also kneeling. Her hands were on the briefcase before she recognized it. She had seen it on TV before in the possession of a man Jeff Hardy very much did not like. She looked up, finding herself eye-level with Edge as he picked up his Money in the Bank briefcase.

"I didn't see you back there, but I can handle this mysel—," he paused. "Hey, you're Lina Lavigne, aren't you?"

"Yes," she answered, apprehensively. "Am I supposed to be familiar with you?"

"Well, allow me to introduce myself," Edge said, brushing his long blond hair out of his face. "I'm about to make your dreams come true."

He was a little closer to her now, both of their hands still on the briefcase. Lina could have sworn Jeff said he was involved with a woman named Lita. But then again, Edge was quite a character.

"What, you're going to let me yell at you till you bleed?" she asked.

"Ooo, caustic," Edge said, grinning. "You're Jeff Hardy's girl, right? I've heard about you." He stood up. Lina broke out of her daze when she felt the briefcase leave her hands and she stood up also. "You've got quite a reputation around here already, you know."

"So I've been told," she replied, keeping her composure.

"I kind of like that," he said. "You're only what, three weeks old and already everyone knows your name? You could be pretty useful."

Lina was taken aback. "Useful?"

"I'm about to ask you something. Brace yourself."

"You're telling me to brace _my_self?" Lina said, completely deterred.

From several yards away, Jeff turned a corner with the intent of meeting up with Lina by the wrestler's entrance. What he didn't expect was to encounter her in the middle of the hallway quite far from where she was supposed to be, and much less that she would be with Edge.

"What the hell…?"

She looked uncomfortable. Edge looked like he was up to his old scheming ways, and Jeff would be damned if he tried to pull anything off on Lina. In seconds, he was upon them, arms around Lina and pulling her away from Edge.

"Hey, get away from her!" he yelled.

"Jeff?" Lina managed, stunned.

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" Jeff said. "You're always up to something! I recognized the look you gave her a mile away! You think people don't notice when you give seductive and manipulative looks to every woman you encounter?"

"Oh now come on, Jeff, we were just having a conversation," Edge started.

"Oh shut the hell up, you horny bastard," Jeff snapped. "I don't think she was enjoying whatever 'conversation' you two were having."

"_Horny bastard?_ Why Jeffrey, you slash me with your words," Edge said.

"Look, just stay away from her," Jeff said. "You have a less then respectable reputation with the women I'm friends with."

"Don't think for a second that Matt wasn't to blame as much as Amy or I were—."

"Don't you _dare_ try to blame that on my brother!" Jeff snapped, jabbing a finger at Edge.

"Your lack of trust in me cuts me deep," Edge said. "It was _one_ girl, Jeff!"

"It was one too many," Jeff replied, starting to steer Lina away from him. "Stay away from Lina, Adam. I'm not going to let you do to her what you did to Matt and Amy."

"You say my name, baby?"

A woman with brown hair suddenly appeared and latched herself affectionately onto Edge's arm. Lina had seen her before; the last time she was on TV, she was wearing a wedding dress and she was standing in the ring with a suited-up Edge. But this was the first time she had ever encountered Lita in person.

Lita turned towards them, her face immediately contorting at the sight of Jeff and Lina. "What are you doing wasting your time with _him_?" she asked.

"Naw, babe, it's nothing," Edge said, wrapping his fingers around her hands.

"And who's _she?_" Lita continued. "That cocky Diva's Search girl I've been hearing about? Shorter than I thought."

She scoffed. Lina bristled at her words, but Jeff, arm still wrapped around her, gave her shoulders a squeeze to tell her to stay silent.

"Come on, baby, let's go. You don't need them," Lita said. With one more smoldering glare, the two of them turned on foot and left. As they watched them walk away, Jeff held his tight grip on Lina's shoulders, seething silently to himself.

A few terse seconds passed before they were joined by yet another person. It was a man about the same height as Jeff, with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. Lina looked up at him, and he and Jeff were both watching Edge and Lita walk away with the same rage in their eyes. He looked a little bit like Jeff…

He and Jeff glanced at each other once, and they seemed to understand each other immediately.

"Get him," Jeff said.

"Way ahead of you," the man replied, and in seconds he was running after them.

Jeff continued to stare down the hallway, even long after the man disappeared. Lina wanted to do something, but Jeff stood there with her, his arm still tight around her.

"Jeff, what are we—?"

"Shh," he whispered. "Wait."

It wasn't a minute later before, from somewhere not too far off, a woman started shrieking. A man cried out and there was a lot of noise. Several security guards suddenly dashed by them towards the noise and the woman was still screaming.

"Jeff, was that Lita screaming back there?" Lina asked.

"One can only hope," Jeff replied.

"Okay, please explain to me what just happened, because I have no idea," she said.

Jeff didn't answer her right away. "The couple you saw back there were Edge and Lita, as I'm sure you already know. Don't pay any attention to Edge; he'll hit on anything that so much as looks at him. And that guy I was talking to?" Jeff looked down at her. "He's the reason I had to go see Eric just now."

"Was that…your brother?"

Jeff grinned. "He's been in talks with the company for some time now about coming back, as I just found out. He wouldn't tell me though, wanted to surprise me. Good thing he showed up when he did, huh? I have a feeling he's about to surprise a whole lot more people, and probably already has."

"So what happened?"

"Good question," he answered. "Hold on…"

The Talent Relations director was running over to them, looking frantic, clutching a clipboard and speaking rapidly into a headset. He spotted Jeff and quickly made his way over to him.

"Jeff, have you seen Matt?"

"Matt?" Jeff replied, looking confused. "What, you mean he's back?"

The director was looking exasperated. "He just ran by here a minute ago!"

"Well no one told me he was back, but I—_gosh_, are you _serious?_" Jeff exclaimed. "What happened?"

The director was staring in disbelief at Jeff, but Jeff looked genuinely confused. "Matt just jumped Edge in the hall. He was on his way to the ring when Matt blindsighted him…I think he was going to go for Lita, but then security showed up and he bolted. _Really_, Jeff, your own brother didn't say a word?"

"I haven't heard anything from anyone and I haven't seen or heard from Matt in weeks," Jeff answered. "I just haven't had time to keep up with much anything lately; I've just been with my intern—."

"Oh, never_ mind!_" the director cried, running off down the hall again.

Jeff watched him leave, an amused smile on his face. "And that's what happened," he said, looking down at Lina. "Sorry I had to lie to him; I don't want the executives thinking I had a part in this. Now, depending on how fast Edge recovers, his match may or may not be before your speech. But let's get you down to the ring and see where things stand."

There was a large crowd gathered around the wrestler's entrance to the arena, mainly comprised of anxious Superstars and Divas. When Jeff and Lina got closer, it seemed that the crowd was anticipating a second appearance from Matt Hardy during Edge's match. As soon as Jeff was spotted, the crowd swarmed him for news. Jeff again feigned innocence, claiming he had only just heard about Matt's reappearance. Edge's match was being pushed back till later in the show, and Lina's speech had been moved up.

And once again, she was standing in the ring. Jeff's music was still playing around them. The crowd had greeted her much more warmly than before, now that she had begun to establish herself as a competent fighter. Between the time Jeff wrote her name down on the night's schedule and now, she had been running through in her head what she wanted to say. She didn't really want to call out Johnny Nitro, per se, since Jeff wasn't going to allow her to fight him just yet. It was more like she just wanted to dispel any doubts he had about her capabilities.

"It might be too early to start trying to intimidate Johnny Nitro," Lina said, a mic in her hand. "I only competed in my first WWE match a week ago, and if you'll recall, I didn't do a whole lot of fighting." The fans cheered supportively. "And what prompted the match was what Nitro said about me during my introduction. He called me a piece of meat, said I was essentially useless, and that I was nothing more than a wannabe Diva."

She shifted her weight and looked around at Jeff. He was standing several feet away from her, arms crossed in silence. Prior to arriving in the ring, he had told her that he was going to let her say whatever she wanted to Nitro, under the condition that she didn't issue any more challenges. He just wanted to be there for support and to help clear house, should MNM decide to join them.

"But you know?" she continued. "Nitro was only mostly wrong. He was wrong about the first two things he said. I'm not a piece of meat, I'm Lina Lavigne and I'm a fighter. I'm not useless, Nitro, I helped kick your ass last week. When that bell rang and Jeff and I were standing victorious in the middle of this ring, he himself told me he knew he didn't sign me for nothing.

"But there's one thing that Nitro…_almost_ got right. I don't have to be a _wannabe_ Diva; I _am_ a Diva, as sure as the sky is blue and Nitro is one of the most underhanded cheats I've ever met. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be something more than just a Diva. Being in the WWE is something I've waited and worked my whole life for, and damnit, I'm going to make the most of it. I'm going to get all I can out of this, and I'm going to start with MNM."

Jeff cocked his head curiously at her.

"I promise you all this: by the time I'm through here, I'll have had my share of the top tier Superstars, too. You'll be seeing me a lot more on Raw, dealing with the Diva's Division as I am able. And when all is said and done, then Nitro, I'm coming for_ you_."

The fans were buzzing; most of them were cheering her. Lina went to drop the microphone, but instead handed it off to Jeff who started to take a few steps towards her.

"You know, I've got to be honest here—I had no idea _what_ Lina wanted to say when she told me she wanted to give a speech tonight," he said, addressing the crowd. "It's a little much, I wasn't expecting that. But now that I know what it is you intend to do, Lina, I have a few words for Johnny Nitro myself." He took a couple steps towards the edge of the ring and stared straight into the TV camera. "Nitro, this woman is my intern, and I have faith in her. She has made a promise and I have every intent on helping her keep it. So to Nitro and the rest of you, you best watch yourselves from now on, les we shut you up for good."

He tossed the microphone and went to escort Lina out of the ring. As he neared her, he gave her a quick look. As brief as it was, she was able to read it. She had held up her end of the deal and did not issue a challenge to Nitro…not yet, at least. Jeff had known that she wanted to fight Nitro, but she could tell from that look he gave her that he didn't think she would be so bold so soon.

"Hey, I said I was going to help you beat up Nitro, right?" Jeff said once they were backstage. "You're a handful, Lina, but I already knew that. I didn't know what to expect from you when you went out there to give your speech, but I didn't expect much good from it. But you're right—you're a fighter, and if you want to tangle with the big dogs, then I'm going to do what I can to help you get there. I have faith in you."

Lina hugged him. "Thanks, Jeff."

After a few seconds, he released her. "Come on, let's go find my brother."

Edge was scheduled to fight Kane that night. Shortly after Lina's speech, the two men made their way down to the ring to have their match. Lita accompanied Edge, standing ringside throughout the match. Towards the end of the match, she jumped into the ring to try and interfere, and the match ended in disqualification when Kane got his hand around her throat and Gene Snitsky ran down to the ring and attacked him. Dealing with this new distraction, Kane brawled with Gene out of the ring, over the fan barrier and disappeared through the crowd. Edge was recovering inside the ring when Matt Hardy suddenly jumped over the fan barrier and attacked him.

"Adam, I'm going to make your life miserable!" Matt shouted, having gotten a hold of a microphone. "Lita, you whore, I'm going to make your life miserable too!"

Within minutes, Matt was tackled by security and hauled off in handcuffs, shouting to the camera that the WWE could kiss his ass.

Jeff caught up with security once they arrived backstage with Lina close on his heels. Matt was still in handcuffs and the chairman Vince McMahon was arriving on the scene. Jeff exchanged words with Vince, but not much was being resolved. As security started to walk away with Matt and Jeff became more frantic, Lina suddenly asked Vince to let Matt tag team with her in lieu of punishment. Everyone fell silent, eyes moving from Lina in disbelief of what she just said, to Vince in anticipation of his decision.

"Fine," Vince said, finally. "But you two had better win."

**.xXx.**

Word started going around that Lina Lavigne was in over her head. She was barely a month into her stay as a WWE Diva, and already she was calling out Superstars and making matches left and right. How convenient it was that she had such a high ranking Superstar like Jeff Hardy to fall back on and carry her mistakes. Some people were saying that she purposely chose Jeff to mentor her and that she was doing nothing more than manipulating him to work her way to the top. The general consensus was that if Lina didn't have Jeff backing her every move, she wouldn't last more than a few months.

"Come on, don't worry about it," Jeff said.

They were both in his dressing room. She was sitting on the couch, doubled-over with her face in her hands. Jeff was sitting on the couch arm next to her with a hand on her back.

"No, they're right," Lina muttered. "I'm feeling way too secure about my standings in the WWE, and I really shouldn't be."

"You know what you have to do now?" he said. "What you have to do now is take all their criticism and turn it into an opportunity. They're jealous, and they're afraid. They don't think you had to work at all to get to where you are because you're working with someone who's already a well-established Superstar, but that's what an internship _is_. They don't know what this will do for their current standings in the WWE, but if you play your cards right, they won't have to feel threatened. They're nervous right now, but don't let it get to you, okay?"

Lina shook her head. "I'm trying to do too much, too soon. I shouldn't have to rely on you to cover me."

"I'm the one relying on you, remember?" Jeff said. "I signed you to help me with MNM. You only got involved with Matt's feud with Edge because _I _tried to get involved. You saved my brother from punishment at the hands of the company chairman. Vince doesn't like me, and whatever he wanted to do to Matt, it probably wouldn't have been good. Thanks for your help, Lina. So have your match with him, and then we'll go back to beating up MNM. Deal?"

Lina straightened up and sighed. She took a few seconds to breathe deeply and compose herself. "Deal," she said finally.

He still had his hand on her back. There were a few moments of silence, where Lina took a few more deep breaths and Jeff rubbed her back gently.

"Now, you and Matt are fighting Edge and Lita next week," he said. "Vince told you that you'd better win, but I'm telling you that you _have_ to win. Our beef with Edge runs deep."

Lina looked up at him curiously.

Jeff paused. "Matt and Lita dated for four years," he started. "Earlier this year it was revealed that she and Edge had been having an affair for several months. For whatever reason, the company released Matt instead of Edge or Lita. There was no remorse, there was no regret, no apologies or explanations. Instead, the two of them have been rubbing it in everyone's face that they ruined my brother's life with their antics—teaming up with each other, attacking Kane, trying to get married…you know; you've been watching it unfold."

She stared up at him, mouth agape. She knew something had happened between Matt and Edge, and Jeff had finally told her.

"I didn't know," she managed finally.

"We were really good friends with both of them before the scandal got out, too," Jeff said. "It's personal. Matt really wants a piece of Edge and it looks like you helped him do it. You and Matt have to win next week."

"I know," Lina said.

"I mean, no pressure or anything," Jeff said with a laugh. "Just…do your best."

"Of course I will," Lina grinned. "I'm fighting for more than one reason next week."

And that was the truth. She didn't feel pressured; she was fighting and training with the two members of one of the greatest tag teams in history. This was more than she deserved, but she wasn't about to let any of her critics try and take it away from her. What would Nitro say if she failed?

She wanted Matt Hardy's comeback to be a great one. She wanted Lita to eat her words and she wanted Edge to regret ever crossing her. But more than anything, she wanted Jeff to be proud of her. And this fight was a great opportunity to do it.

End Chapter 3

Omggg I'm so sorry this took so long to upload. If you haven't given up on me yet, you're officially my favorite.  
Lina's development is coming across as a little strong and very interesting. I wasn't counting on making her this forward, so I'm sorry if it seems like she's totally cocky and arrogant. But I am super stoked for her match with Matt in the next chapter.  
Reviews, please!


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